Holy **** has hell frozen over? One of the worst defensive games overall I've ever seen Kobe play and he gets semi-praise from odom1year.

For defensive issue, it should blame MDA. This is an encouraging loss though. For Kobe, I can see him sharing a bit more in this game. If Kobe is on his full attack mode in the 4th, don't you think we only lose by 3 pts ?

Last edited by odom1year on Wed Jan 09, 2013 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

GoldenKnight wrote:Kobe went #8 mode for a while, not the defensive #8 though.

I applaud his effort offensively.

Yeah, I thought overall, he was good on a night when his shot wasn't there for a lot of the game. But he didn't force it much. He didn't burn up possessions trying to find his shot so to speak.

There was a moment in the game, near mid-3rd where he got really mad and started forcing it a bit but MDA called a timeout and that sort of settled him a bit.

The only offensive play that had me smacking my forehead though was the 3 pt shot when we were down 3 with a 2 for 1 in the bag. We should have at least looked for the easy deuce first IMO. Maybe he was tired and that's why it hit front iron. That's a possession where i'd like to see Nash do his thing and find Kobe or another open player in rhythm.

I just don't get why Kobe refuses to play defense. It's not an energy thing. The guy is leading the league in scoring so he has plenty in the tank for defense. He just isn't interested and that is infecting the rest of the team. Score 22-25 PPG and play borderline all-nba D and I bet the net production we get will be more than 30 PPG with uninterested D.

He made some huge shots in the 4th but his D was trash practically all game. I counted about at least 4 times in the second half where he left his man wide open from 3. That's 12 pts right there just being handed to the Spurs.

He needs to at least try and give the defensive effort he did down the stretch tonight for the entire game on a nightly bases.

"Let me say one more thing about Kobe. He will be the best player in the history of the game. If he keeps doing what he's doing, there is no stopping him. He is that good." - Shaquille O'Neal in his autobiography, "Shaq Talks Back"

As great a player as Kobe is and as many clutch shots as he's hit over the span of his amazing career, something has got to change with these game ending shots. What's he shot over the span of the past two seasons on these game enders? 10 to 15%? Every possession is identical -- three guys swarm over Bryant, he dribbles around and hoists up a desperation shot that now rarely converts. It sure seems that inbounding the ball with over 10 seconds left should allow for some ball and player movement and a cleaner look at the hoop. I know Kobe's made incredible shots at game's end over the years, but those conversions are dwindling dramatically. If Kobe gets to take those shots because he's "earned" them, a forced miss and subsequent loss due to a horribly low percentage shot is too high a price to pay. His conversion rate in those situations has drastically dropped, almost insuring a miss in the last critical moment of games. Gotta change it up a bit. It'll help him in the long run get cleaner looks.

Alleyhoops wrote:As great a player as Kobe is and as many clutch shots as he's hit over the span of his amazing career, something has got to change with these game ending shots. What's he shot over the span of the past two seasons on these game enders? 10 to 15%? Every possession is identical -- three guys swarm over Bryant, he dribbles around and hoists up a desperation shot that now rarely converts. It sure seems that inbounding the ball with over 10 seconds left should allow for some ball and player movement and a cleaner look at the hoop. I know Kobe's made incredible shots at game's end over the years, but those conversions are dwindling dramatically. If Kobe gets to take those shots because he's "earned" them, a forced miss and subsequent loss due to a horribly low percentage shot is too high a price to pay. His conversion rate in those situations has drastically dropped, almost insuring a miss in the last critical moment of games. Gotta change it up a bit. It'll help him in the long run get cleaner looks.

You're exactly right. He's become so predictable that it makes him easier to defend. In the past, he was a triple threat. He might pull up and shoot on you, he might dribble penetrate and attack the basket, and a smaller chance but still a chance he'd pass to someone. Now, it seems like the defense knows what he's going to do before even he knows what he's going to do.

Past couple seasons, Kobe has not really been the closer we need him to be.